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Inside Downtown Tour 2017: Midtown

Friday, October 6th  5:30-8:30  & Saturday, October 7th  11:00-4:00

Online ticket sales have closed for this event, but tickets will be available during the tour at tour headquarters, Tower 280 at 280 East Broad Street, for $35.

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Our Inside Downtown Tour, now in its 14th year, opens up urban environments where folks are creating exciting spaces to live and work. We visit re-purposed spaces, renovated homes, lovingly preserved places, and newly built sites that are designed with sensitivity to the overall built environment. Basically, we get you “in” on the latest urban living trends!

This year’s tour features the resurgent Midtown neighborhood, and will take place on Friday, October 6th from 5:30 – 8:30 PM and Saturday, October 7th from 11 AM – 4 PM.

Tour Neighborhood: Midtown

The Midtown area of Downtown Rochester has had many identities. In the early 20th century, Chestnut Street was the location of one of Rochester’s “red light” districts. Closely aligned with live performance theaters on South Clinton, if a young lady told you she lived there, you would have had suspicions about her “profession.” Broad Street did not yet exist – instead, there were many small streets with low rise apartment buildings, residential homes and modest commercial establishments.

In the mid 20th century, the Federal government-funded Urban Renewal Program wiped clean this area in an effort to “improve” the neighborhood, replacing the smaller dwellings with high rise apartment buildings, Manhattan Square Park, and the signature Midtown Plaza – America’s first urban indoor shopping mall.

Today we are seeing yet another chapter open in this fascinating area, as many new downtown apartments are on the cusp of opening to eager would-be downtown residents. The Tour will bring you to occupied apartments as well as a few models so new that you will likely be the first ones to step into the spaces without a hard hat.

Some of the sites on the tour include:

Tower 280
With a rich history starting in 1962, the Tower is one of two remaining elements of the first urban downtown mall in America. The renaissance of the office tower as urban living and work spaces is a joint venture of Buckingham Properties and Morgan Management. Generous tenants are opening their apartments, a cutting edge company will share their space and their vision – and you’ll get to discover the only rooftop dog park in Rochester.

The Metropolitan

One of the most recognizable buildings in our skyline, the former Lincoln Tower is one of those structures that lets you know you’re in Rochester. When you see the new living spaces inside, you’ll know you are in the newly revitalized Rochester!

88 on Elm

It’s got a brand new glass facade. We will be the first ones visiting this building without a hardhat! The absolutely newest loft apartments in downtown.

Residences at Columbus

This structure has quite the storied past. The historic Knights of Columbus building has been transformed into apartments available for different rental budgets, complete with a fascinating lobby.

Spectra at Sibley Square

We’ve featured the former retail spaces on past tours: now the residences in the tower are ready to tour. So new, the paint may not be dry! We’ll be seeing the high-end Spectra apartments.

There are more places and spaces opening – get our enewsletter for the latest information! (signup at the bottom of the page)

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